Farran Smith Nehme
@selfstyledsiren.bsky.social
Film critic; NSFC, NYFCC. Bylines at Criterion, Sight & Sound, Noir City, my own Substack, and wherever fine film geeks are found.
https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/
https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Many years ago, Fleming's biographer, John Pearson, wrote a novel, "James Bond: The Authorized Biography." Its entertaining (and very meta) conceit was that there WAS a real James Bond; the novels and films were part of a huge British disinformation campaign to make the USSR think there wasn't.
November 11, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Many years ago, Fleming's biographer, John Pearson, wrote a novel, "James Bond: The Authorized Biography." Its entertaining (and very meta) conceit was that there WAS a real James Bond; the novels and films were part of a huge British disinformation campaign to make the USSR think there wasn't.
It's the dumb mistakes that tell you which ones he actually wrote.
November 11, 2025 at 2:05 PM
It's the dumb mistakes that tell you which ones he actually wrote.
Agree, and if the next film is good, Bond fans won't suddenly care about logic.
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Agree, and if the next film is good, Bond fans won't suddenly care about logic.
I've always said I like winter, I like having all four seasons. But one year when we spent a polar-vortex Christmas in Chicago (a town I love!) with my sister, I thought, "We have officially hit my limit right here." 😂
November 11, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I've always said I like winter, I like having all four seasons. But one year when we spent a polar-vortex Christmas in Chicago (a town I love!) with my sister, I thought, "We have officially hit my limit right here." 😂
Note that The Criterion Channel has a lot of Tatsuya Nakadai films streaming, including Sanjuro, Sword of Doom, and The Face of Another, as well as all of the nearly 10 hours of The Human Condition. www.criterionchannel.com/search?q=tat...
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Note that The Criterion Channel has a lot of Tatsuya Nakadai films streaming, including Sanjuro, Sword of Doom, and The Face of Another, as well as all of the nearly 10 hours of The Human Condition. www.criterionchannel.com/search?q=tat...
My friend Imogen Sara Smith wrote several times about Tatsuya Nakadai's unique qualities, such as here in 2020 at Bright Lights Film Journal. brightlightsfilm.com/japanese-cin...
Japanese Cinema's Uncommon Man: Tatsuya Nakadai's Dissidents, Outcasts, and Shadow Warriors - Bright Lights Film Journal
"Like Hollywood's new postwar men, he offered a multifaceted, ambivalent masculinity far from monolithic wartime ideals."
brightlightsfilm.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:29 PM
My friend Imogen Sara Smith wrote several times about Tatsuya Nakadai's unique qualities, such as here in 2020 at Bright Lights Film Journal. brightlightsfilm.com/japanese-cin...
It is a pretty dull title that could apply to any number of plots, yes!
November 10, 2025 at 9:44 PM
It is a pretty dull title that could apply to any number of plots, yes!
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
Roy Scheider with Bob Fosse on the set of All That Jazz, 1979
The still photographer on the set was Josh Weiner.
The still photographer on the set was Josh Weiner.
November 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Roy Scheider with Bob Fosse on the set of All That Jazz, 1979
The still photographer on the set was Josh Weiner.
The still photographer on the set was Josh Weiner.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
One of the Great Dressing-Gown Performances! Also, some manic cat-petting (the cat itself seems remarkably unfazed, so presumably enjoyed it). #Deception
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
One of the Great Dressing-Gown Performances! Also, some manic cat-petting (the cat itself seems remarkably unfazed, so presumably enjoyed it). #Deception
One of his best pieces of acting, and it's relatively less seen!
November 10, 2025 at 1:42 PM
One of his best pieces of acting, and it's relatively less seen!
The Musée de la préfecture de police in Paris has a guillotine blade on display, from around the time of the revolution although not THE Place de la Concorde one. And it's surprising how small it is.
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The Musée de la préfecture de police in Paris has a guillotine blade on display, from around the time of the revolution although not THE Place de la Concorde one. And it's surprising how small it is.
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
I *adore* it too. More "hot psychotic Uncle Claude" — Alexander Hollenius ordering dinner in DECEPTION. For over seven minutes.
When they finished the first read-through, Bette Davis said, as drily as only Bette Davis could, "That's quite a part you've got there, Claudie." vimeo.com/135303791
When they finished the first read-through, Bette Davis said, as drily as only Bette Davis could, "That's quite a part you've got there, Claudie." vimeo.com/135303791
November 10, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Farran Smith Nehme
November 9, 2025 at 2:32 AM